Library Bus

Public Library Bus, 2012

Peter Callesen has recently been working on the decoration of a public library bus, which is a commission work for the Danish Art Council in collaboration with the Borough of Guldborgsund, at Falster in the southern part of Denmark.

The bus functions as a mobile library that visits remote townships around the area, since they are each too small to have their own library. In that way the bus spreads information and joy around the outskirts of Denmark, and it has been an exciting challenge for Peter Callesen to decorate the bus in a way that would be embraced by the local society.

First Peter Callesen has photographed around 500 different books from the local library, He then asked the local residents of the area to come up with their own titles for books, which he afterwards exchanged with the old titles. This has resulted in around 500 different authors and made-up titles, which now embellish the exterior of the bus in a mosaic pattern of books in different bright colors. In this way every inhabitant of the area, young and old, will have a unique relation to the bus when it now drives through the beautiful scenery of the Borough of Guldborgsund.

Some examples of the book titles:

Daniel Holst Kjeldesen : The Frog With No Hand
Laust Kjæp Dengsøe : Jelly Wars
Kine Torstensen : I Wish I Were A Professional Cinderella
Ramses II : My Life In A Coffin
Eric von Zoo : Singing with Animals
Tom Jerne: As Far As I Remember
Inger Malling: Don't Miss Out On Anything
Dirk Sværte: I always give up